AP FACT CHECK: Trump, Clinton and their debate claimsWASHINGTON — Donald Trump mischaracterized the record on Hillary Clinton's defense of her husband and her own treatment of women when he brought up Bill Clinton's sexual history and other episodes of the past. Clinton didn't give a square account of the fallout from her email practices. A look at some of the claims in the second presidential debate: TRUMP, asked whether the predatory behavior with women that he described in a 2005 video amount...

Takeaways: Trump aggressive, Clinton steady in tense debateST. LOUIS — His candidacy spiraling out of control, Donald Trump faced Hillary Clinton on the debate stage Sunday night in the most critical moment of his political career. Questions about Trump's preparation, policy knowledge and temperament all were overshadowed by the political fallout from Friday's release of a video that captured the Republican presidential nominee making predatory sexual comments about women a decade earlier. With tensio...

90 minutes of fire: Trump, Clinton trade charges, insultsST. LOUIS — In a bitter debate filled with tension and insult, Hillary Clinton declared that Donald Trump's vulgar comments about women reveal "exactly who he is" and prove his unsuitability to be president. Firing back, he accused her of attacking women involved in Bill Clinton's extramarital affairs and promised she would "be in jail" if he were president. Trump, who entered Sunday night's debate desperate to steady his floundering campaign,...

Americans back at job huntWASHINGTON -- Drawn by steady hiring and slightly higher pay, more Americans began looking for work in September, a sign of renewed optimism about the U.S. job market. The influx of job seekers sent the unemployment rate up slightly as more Americans were counted as unemployed. Taken as a whole, Friday's jobs report from the government painted a picture of a resilient economy that could keep the Federal Reserve on track to raise interest rates...

$100,000 OK'd for election worker salariesThe Pope County Quorum Court approved several appropriations and transfers, including $100,000 from the General Fund to the Election Commission to cover salaries for election workers for the Nov. 8 general election. Justice of the Peace David Ivy asked what percentage of the $100,000 would the county get back. Election Commissioner Portia Short said she had no idea on what would come back from different cities, because the amount was based on ...

AG names '16 officers of the yearNORTH LITTLE ROCK -- Three Arkansas River Valley law enforcement officers were honored by Attorney General Leslie Rutledge during the 2016 Arkansas Law Enforcement Summit awards recognition luncheon at Camp Robinson on Wednesday. Russellville Police Det. Quinn Jones received the Pope County Outstanding Law Enforcement Officer of the Year Award. Yell County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Capt. John Foster Jr. received the Yell County Law Enforcement Of...

Debate minefield: Town hall will test '16 candidates' stagecraftWASHINGTON -- President George H.W. Bush conspicuously checked his watch. Al Gore got too close for comfort. Mitt Romney strode across stage to confront President Barack Obama face to face. For presidential candidates, a town hall debate is a test of stagecraft as much as substance. When Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump meet Sunday night in St. Louis, they'll be fielding questions from undecided voters seated nearby. In an added dose of unpred...

Quorum Court is considering funding itemsThe Pope County Quorum Court's Finance Committee recommended approval for all the appropriations and transfers on its agenda Tuesday to the full court during its October meeting at 5:30 p.m. today. Treasurer Donna reported that sales tax revenues were 3.75 less than September sales tax revenues in 2015. That meant year-to-date revenues were down about 1 percent from 2016 projections. Coroner Danny White told committee members he needed the $1,...

AP FACT CHECK: Claims in the VP debateNot all the claims in the vice presidential debate stand up to scrutiny. A look at some of them and how they compare with the facts: DEMOCRAT TIM KAINE: While secretary of state, Hillary Clinton "worked a tough negotiation with nations around the world to eliminate the Iranian nuclear weapons program without firing a shot." REPUBLICAN MIKE PENCE: "Eliminate the Iranian nuclear weapons program?" KAINE: "Absolutely, without firing a shot." THE F...

Details on Trump, Clinton tax plansWASHINGTON -- For America's wealthiest families, the presidential campaign presents a stark choice: A big tax increase if Hillary Clinton wins the election -- or a big tax cut if Donald Trump wins. For everyone else? Right now, neither candidate is proposing major tax changes. Tax policy is one of the issues on which the two nominees differ most. Their approaches are likely to draw new attention following a New York Times report that Trump's n...

Pottsville slated to get new carPOTTSVILLE — The Pottsville City Council met last Monday and approved the purchase of a new police car and discussed additions and deletions to the policy handbook. Mayor Jerry Williams said the police department requested to purchase a new police car and the council reviewed bids. According to Williams, a location in Little Rock had a lower bid for a vehicle than Cogswell Motors, but after comparing the two, the council approved the purchase ...

DIVIDED AMERICA: Minorities hopeful, whites sour on futureKANSAS CITY, Mo. — Consider two women in their 70s, both residents of the Kansas City area. One is white and affluent; the other is black and working class. Guess which one is more optimistic about the country's future and that of their grandchildren? More than likely, you guessed wrong. ___ EDITOR'S NOTE — This is part of Divided America, AP's ongoing exploration of the economic, social and political divisions in American society. ___ This ye...

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BY NICHOLAS RICCARDI and SCOTT BAUER
Associated PressAssociated Press

Pretrial hearing for Wards set for MondayDANVILLE — The former director and secretary of Yell County EMS will appear Monday in Yell County Circuit Court in front of Benton County Circuit Judge Brad Kerren for a pretrial hearing. Kerren was appointed as a special judge to the case of Sidney and Donna Ward by Arkansas Supreme Court Justice Howard Brill in July. The Arkansas Supreme Court appoint the circuit judge from Benton County after all three of the 15th Judicial District judges —...

Convention center items tabledA large-scale development plan and preliminary plat for The Landing hotel and convention center were on an early agenda for the Russellville Planning Commission's regular meeting. Monday, the agenda listed the items as tabled until next month because there were some unanswered questions between the Department of Public Works and AW Engineering. "Questions came up during the Technical Review meeting, and they didn't feel they could adequately m...

City Corp. approves bids, constructionCity Corporation's Board of Directors approved a couple of bids and an amendment and change to the construction contract for the biosolids project during its regular September meeting. For the month, total combined revenue was $50,000 under budget with combined expenses coming in under budget by $101,000. Other income was over budget by $33,000. The combined net income for the month was $84,000 better than budget. For the year, total combined ...

Committee OKs center director job descriptionThe Russellville Personnel Committee approved a job description for the aquatic center director during its meeting last week at City Hall. It will next go to the Finance Committee for approval of the salary range. According to the description, "the director will manage the operations and programs of the Aquatic Department for the city. They will be responsible for supervising water safety instruction, lifeguards, water aerobics instructors and...

Ola discusses fun park grantOLA — The Ola City Council met Monday to discuss updates on a fun park grant and to review the animal control ordinance the city has in place. Ronald Osterhout, council member, said the council discussed the fun park grant they received from the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism for $45,000 to improve Ola City Park. Osterhout said the city contacted John Doyle with Harbor Engineering in Little Rock, who did their specs, to ask if the ci...

Clinton, Trump battle fiercely over taxes, race, terrorHEMPSTEAD, N.Y. — In a combative opening debate, Hillary Clinton emphatically denounced Donald Trump Monday night for keeping his personal tax returns and business dealings secret from voters and peddling a "racist lie" about President Barack Obama. Businessman Trump repeatedly cast Clinton as a "typical politician" as he sought to capitalize on Americans' frustration with Washington. Locked in an exceedingly close White House race, the presid...

Master plan update givenDowntown Russellville experienced another step forward in its future last week. Members of the Walker Collaborative consulting firm returned to Russellville on Monday and Tuesday and gave their review and suggestions on the city's five-year Downtown Master Plan. Phil Walker, Wade Walker and Keith Covington presented their findings to the public Tuesday afternoon. "Many of the needs that we addressed initially may still be needs," Main Street R...

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By Sean Ingram and Sierra MurphyThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Cemetery database is up and runningOakland Cemetery Director Stephanie Warwick told commissioners during Tuesday's regular meeting that the new online software database cloud service for cemetery records is up and running. Grave Discover software is all web-based and is mobile-friendly, meaning Warwick could search on her iPad or cell phone at the cemetery instead of getting a name, then going to the cemetery to search for the person or plot. Google Maps will provide multiple m...